I have never seen the Python interpreter crash in any way, nor have I heard of it doing so. I havent seen this, but my partner tells me he as seen the Perl interpreter crash. I have seen the Java JVM crash many many times. Some of my Python code has been running 24/7 for the last 18 months. I would say that, as languages or interpreters, Python and Perl are equally and extremely stable. As tools for developing software, Python's object oriented foundation is conducive to the building of more stable _systems_ that Perl. This could be because of the language itself, or because of the programmers it attracts. Most of the Perl programmers I have met are, frankly, obscuritan mess-heads. The concept of structured programming is somewhat anathema to the Perl programmer. I looked over the shoulder of one Perl programmer we had hired, who was having trouble with a database import problem for several weeks. This Perl programmer had written 6 pages of perl code without actually using _any_ indentation. The program was full of nested loops and she was having a difficult time debugging her code. Without knowing any Perl, I cleaned up the indentation, fixed a few glaring problems, and handed it back to her. She had the problem solved at the end of the day. It comes down to this: It is hard to write a program in Python that another Python programmer (or the same programer several months later) wont understand. It is easy to write a program in Perl that another Perl programmer wont understand. As for the outside consultant. Ask them what makes them feel that Python is less stable than Perl, and what exactly that means.
-----Original Message----- From: zope-admin@zope.org [mailto:zope-admin@zope.org]On Behalf Of James W. Howe Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2000 9:54 AM To: zope@zope.org Subject: [Zope] Zope Stability Question
I'm working on a project for which Zope seems appropriate. However, an outside consultant for our client claims that the major problem with Zope is that it requires Python, and Python is much less stable than something like Perl. I haven't used Zope or Python enough to have counterarguments to this comment. I don't know specifically what stability issues this person may be referring to, but I would like to ask for feedback on this persons comment.
Thanks.
James W. Howe mailto:jwh@allencreek.com Allen Creek Software, Inc. pgpkey: http://ic.net/~jwh/pgpkey.html Ann Arbor, MI 48103
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